Playwright and actor Shahnee Hunter has been named the winner of the 2026 Max Afford Playwrights’ Award, receiving a prize package worth $33,000 for her play She Is Not Alone.

Announced by Australian Plays Transform (APT) and Perpetual Limited, as trustee of the award, Hunter’s script was selected unanimously by the judging panel from a record field of more than 100 submissions. The award includes a $15,500 cash prize and a creative development process for the play to be produced by APT.

Shahnee Hunter. Portrait supplied

APT CEO and Executive Producer Erin Taylor praised Hunter’s distinctive voice and storytelling, describing She Is Not Alone as a work that combines humour, warmth and sadness while demonstrating theatre’s capacity to strengthen communities through shared experience.

Hunter, a proud Djabugay, mBabaram, Ewamian and Butchulla woman from Far North Queensland, said she was “overwhelmed and incredibly thankful” to receive the award. The opportunity would allow her to experiment with and develop a story that is deeply personal to her, adding that hearing the characters’ voices come to life was “a surreal feeling”.

Established by the late Thelma May in memory of her husband, playwright and novelist Max Afford, the biennial award supports Australian playwrights aged between 18 and 40. Entrants submit a full-length unproduced play, with the winning work chosen by an independent industry panel.

The development of She Is Not Alone will take place over the coming year.

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